GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Iolani's Taylor Mounts blocked a kill attempt by Punahou's Max Halvorson last night.

Punahou keeps rolling

With the roar of enthusiastic fans and the Raider band in full swing, the Iolani boys volleyball team enjoyed a home-court-like atmosphere last night at Hemmeter Fieldhouse.

But the No. 3 Raiders couldn't stop Buffanblu outside hitter Spencer McLachlin, who pounded a team-high 19 kills to lead top-ranked Punahou over the Raiders 25-22, 25-27, 25-22 in an Interscholastic League of Honolulu match.

"Punahou is the class of the ILH right now," said Iolani assistant coach Alan Rosehill, who took over for head coach Mike Among early in the third game. Among, who was the Raiders' biggest cheerleader throughout the match, left to attend a school open house.

"It's just nice we were able to play some good volleyball," Rosehill added.

Raider outside hitter Brad Lawson was nearly unstoppable, crushing a match-high 26 kills, including 13 kills in Game 2.

"I don't think we executed as well on blocking as we should have, especially me," said Punahou setter Riley McKibbin, who recorded three blocks. "But, you know, Brad Lawson's pretty good."

The major downfall for Iolani was at the service line. The Raiders committed nine service errors, while the Buffanblu kept their serves in the court.

"We made a few more service errors than they did, and a few points in a close game like this is all the difference," Rosehill said. Each team collected three aces.

The Raiders dropped to 5-3 for the year, with two of their losses coming this week after they lost to No. 5 Maryknoll in three games on Tuesday. The Buffanblu improved to 8-0.

After splitting the first two games, a Punahou win seemed certain in the late stages of Game 3. The Buffanblu held a six-point advantage as they reached the 20-point mark with a kill by Joshua Bninski.

But the Raiders capitalized on Punahou hitting errors and got two quick kills by Lawson to climb back into the match. McLachlin sailed a crosscourt shot wide to bring the Raiders back to within a point at 21-20.

"We tried to play with passion and with heart, just come out like caged dogs," said junior Taylor Mounts, who added 16 kills for the Raiders.

"Taylor Mounts and Brad Lawson, they were the two best players in the gym tonight," Punahou coach Peter Balding said.

But McLachlin recovered from the error and hit down Punahou's next three points. Though the Buffanblu had trouble stopping Lawson earlier, they finally got the better of the junior on match point. The trio of Bninski, Max Halvorson and Erik Shoji blocked Lawson's back-row attack straight down for the win.

Shoji put down eight kills, while Tim Harrison added seven.

The Buffanblu kept a small lead throughout the first game, never leading by more than three points. Though Iolani closed to within 21-20 on a kill from the right side by Lawson, Punahou finished out the game by going to McLachlin, who easily slammed down game-point on a set behind McKibbin in the middle.

"I think everyone in the state knows we're going to do that," Balding said. "We just try to give him openings."

The two teams again were within a couple points of each other through Game 2. The Buffanblu had a shot to clinch the match after an ace by Shoji gave them match point. But after Lawson put down three kills, the Raiders forced a third game with their first block of McLachlin.

"We ended the season last year playing these guys for the championship, so we know they are a very good team," Rosehill said. "We knew we had to come in here and try to muster a good match. And it's fortunate we were able to do that."